This invention relates, in general, to circuitry for detecting electrical power and, more particularly, to such circuitry having temperature compensation.
There are many applications wherein it is desired to provide detection and/or measurement of electrical power over a wide band. e.g. .4 Megahertz (MH.sub.z) to 1000 MH.sub.z. An example of such a requirement is provided by electronic equipment for testing radio frequency (RF) transmitters which operate at different frequencies. More specifically, it is desirable to measure the output power of such transmitters during production, operation and repair tests. Moreover, it is desirable for power detector circuits utilized in these applications to operate over a wide range of temperatures, e.g. from 0 to 70.degree. C.
Prior art circuits have been developed for power detection and measurement. Some of these circuits include a plurality of components such as diodes and operational amplifiers. Other prior art circuitry utilize thermistors. Prior art circuits employing a large number of components tend to have reliability problems. Moreover, some prior art circuit configurations for operating over a wide frequency band require time consuming test and alignment procedures which increase costs. Furthermore, some prior art circuits do not provide accurate results over a wide temperature range.